\4 
A NEW YORKSHIRE REPTILE. 
W. J. CLARKE, F.Z.S. 
WHILE recently going through the collection of reptiles in the 
Scarborough Museum, I came across a turtle labelled ‘ Hawks- 
billed Turtle, taken alive on the North Sands, Scarborough, 
May, 1854.’ 
On examining the specimen I noticed that it possessed five 
costal shields which showed at once that it is not the Hawks- 
billed species. This circumstance, together with the heavy 
and massively built head led me to believe that I was examining 
a Logger-headed Turtle, Thalassochelys caretta, and I accordingly 
Logger-headed Turtle. 
took the accompanying photograph and sent it to G. A. 
Boulenger, Esq., of the British Museum, for confirmation. 
He very kindly replies that ‘ the turtle is certainly a half- 
grown Loggerhead, ’ and gives records of other occurrences 
in the British Isles by Dyce in 1861, Harvie Brown and Buckley 
in 1896, and Peale in 1898. There appears to be no other 
- Yorkshire record for the species. 
I received unexpected confirmation of the authenticity of 
the record on mentioning the matter to my father, Mr. R. 
Clarke. He tells me that the turtle was found stranded on 
the North Sands by a labouring man who lived in Abbey’s 
Yard in St. Nicholas Street. He brought it home alive, and 
my father, who at that time occupied business premises in 
Abbey’s Yard, saw the turtle while still living. Unfortunately 
he does not remember the name of its captor, nor what became 
of the specimen at that time, but evidently it found its way 
into the local museum, where it may now be seen in a good state 
of preservation. 
7 U 
Igtt Sept. r. 
